Los Angeles Police Fatally Shoot Man Armed With Tree Trimmer in Boyle Heights

Los Angeles police have fatally shot a man who allegedly threatened them with a tree trimmer.

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were called to Zimran Canas’ home in the Boyle Heights neighborhood on Monday at around 10 a.m. local time.

The department said in a news release that they were told the man had a mental illness and was armed with a “metal pipe.”

When officers arrived at the home — located east of downtown Los Angeles — a family member came outside and directed them to Canas, “who exited a front gate armed with an approximate 8-foot pole with an approximate 12-inch serrated blade attached to the end,” according to the cops.

Police said they demanded that Canas drop the tree trimmer, but he refused and approached one of the officers “with the blade pointed toward the officer, resulting in an Officer-Involved Shooting.”

“They gave him commands to drop the item, but he advanced towards the officers,” LAPD Captain Mike Bland told local outlet KABC. “The officers did attempt to redeploy their position, but he continued to advance and not comply with their directives to drop the item and submit to arrest.”

Canas collapsed to the ground and officers provided first aid until paramedics arrived. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

No one else, including any officer, was injured during the incident.

It’s unclear how many officers drew their weapons and how many shots were fired. The Independent has reached out to the LAPD for comment.

Police recovered the metal pipe and pole with a serrated blade and booked them as evidence.

The LAPD’s Force Investigation Division is investigating the incident.

“Part of that process would include interviews with the involved officers, any body-worn video that they would have, any other video in the area, as well as interviews with any of the involved persons that were here at scene,” Bland said.